Gotlandsdricka, drikke to the islanders, pours pale to copper, often hazy, sometimes with a pink tint. It tastes smoky, bitter-sweet and spicy, with a strong note of juniper and the fruity, yeasty character of baker’s yeast. The smoke comes from malt dried over birchwood. Bitterness stays low, and the body is medium to full.
Where it comes from
Gotlanders brew it at home on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea, from juniper boughs, malt, hops, yeast, water and sugar, and drink it unfiltered and unpasteurised. The brewing was once done only by women. It is hard to make for sale, so it has stayed a homebrew and become a mark of Gotland’s culture; each autumn the island holds a world championship of drikke brewing.
The Brewers Association added it to its guidelines as Swedish-style gotlandsdricke, with birchwood-smoked malt, juniper and baker’s yeast as its marks, at 5.5–6.5% alcohol.
Next to its neighbours
It is a close relative of Finland’s sahti and Norway’s farmhouse ales, and the juniper puts it near the old herbed ales called gruit. Against sahti it is weaker and smoky.
Gotlandsdricka in numbers
- Original gravity
- 1.040–1.050
- Final gravity
- 1.010–1.014
- Local names
- drikke, drikko, drikku
- Style guidelines
- Brewers Association 2026: Swedish-Style Gotlandsdricke
Sources
Checked .
- Gotlandsdricka — Wikipedia
- 2026 Beer Style Guidelines (Swedish-Style Gotlandsdricke) — Brewers Association
